Rushed terminal groin study already questioned

By Gareth McGrathGareth.McGrath@StarNewsOnline.com

Friday

Oct 30, 2009 at 8:38 PM

The terminal groin study, launched last month, is in its infancy.But the need to have a finished report on the controversial and politically charged subject for the General Assembly in just over five months – and a draft report by February – is worrying some members of the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission.They’re concerned the narrow time frame, which includes squeezing in several mandated public hearings and meetings with coastal researchers, will limit the report’s ability to gauge the feasibility and environmental, economic and material impacts of the proposed erosion-control devices along the North Carolina coast.Jim Leutze, a commission member and former chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, said he expects the study will find that terminal groins would work well in some places and not in others, hamstringing the ability of the commission to offer a definitive recommendation.“I can’t imagine we’re going to hear anything substantially different from that,” he said.Terminal groins are low-slung structures, generally made of rocks or sheet metal, that extend out from a beach. Like traditional groins, the structures work by capturing sand moving along with the near-shore currents, building up the beach behind the groin. But unlike their bigger brethren, terminal groins allow material to flow over them after a certain amount has been trapped.North Carolina has had a long-standing ban on most hardened structures along its coast. The thinking is that seawalls, groins and other hardened structures don’t solve erosion woes but simply relocate them to other places along the beach.But some coastal officials say the state’s current erosion-control methods, namely expensive beach nourishment projects and ugly temporary sandbags, are ineffective around inlets.Communities that have expressed interest in terminal groins to help protect threatened oceanfront homes and infrastructure include North Topsail Beach, Figure Eight Island, Bald Head Island, Holden Beach and Ocean Isle Beach.The new study has generated its own controversy, first because the state hired a coastal engineering firm to lead it.Now there are worries about how much real analysis can be done so quickly. Commission member David Webster, who also is a UNCW biologist, said he was concerned that the five terminal groin-like structures chosen to be studied – three of which are in Florida – don’t include an example of a terminal groin structure that’s failed.“So how do we measure success if we’re not looking at one that’s been an abysmal failure?” he said.But Thursday parties on both sides of the issue stressed that they hoped the study, even with all of its challenges, would be fair and transparent.“Let’s just all keep an open mind,” said Ocean Isle Beach Mayor Debbie Smith.Todd Miller, executive director of the N.C. Coastal Federation, said it was important that the evaluation and analysis be thorough enough to give the study’s findings credibility.But State Rep. Frank Iler, who represents Brunswick County, echoed the sentiment of many worried and frustrated coastal officials and residents in stating that the need for another “tool” in the beach-management toolbox was sooner rather than later.“If not this, then what?” he said. “If not now, then when?”

Gareth McGrath: 343-2384On Twitter.com: @Gman2000

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